103
103
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
MSNBCW
tv
eye 103
favorite 0
quote 0
footing. >> what is boehner's game plan? does he even have one? ryan grim is washington bureau chief for "the huffington post," and glen johnson is politics editor for boston.com. i worked on the hill for years. you cover the hill and know it. that was a very personal shot from harry reid. is it accurate to say, open question, that speaker boehner is worried about staying speaker? >> yes. he's definitely -- i think he's not worried about his election on january 3rd, but that's not the end of it. you know, i think he's worried about his speakership every day he's speaker -- >> do you agree with that, he's worried he may be losing out or being thrown out of the speakership by his own party? >> for sure. he spent the first two years of his speakership looking over his shoulder as the camera shows of eric cantor right behind him ready -- >> but cantor is with him now, isn't he? hasn't his number two guy joined him? >> he's his number two guy and supporter, but he's the spiritual leader of the tea party caucus there, and that's t
footing. >> what is boehner's game plan? does he even have one? ryan grim is washington bureau chief for "the huffington post," and glen johnson is politics editor for boston.com. i worked on the hill for years. you cover the hill and know it. that was a very personal shot from harry reid. is it accurate to say, open question, that speaker boehner is worried about staying speaker? >> yes. he's definitely -- i think he's not worried about his election on january 3rd, but...
209
209
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
MSNBCW
tv
eye 209
favorite 0
quote 0
speaker boehner tried and he nailed. so is there a minority/majority coalition to come together to get something through the house. >> does it come from mcconnell? >> that's the other question is whether or not senator mcconnell plays along. i have a sneak with suspicion he will cautiously play along. he doesn't want to be blamed for this. he as of more moderate. what will they say at this meeting, what sort of stone? conciliatory? or the right saying that he has been trying to roll the republicans, basically saying here is the deal and you better take it? >> i think a lot of democrats or progressives hope he won't be as conciliatory as he's been. that is might do more than that. >> like what? >> i hope there are no further cuts to i doubt that that's the case. he's a very good hand to play. as we know, if the fiscal cliff comes to pass, we'll be seeing a lot of bush era tack rates that will go up anyway. >> we know the president oftentimes trying to go to the middle. we know he's more of a moderate. he trying to bring t
speaker boehner tried and he nailed. so is there a minority/majority coalition to come together to get something through the house. >> does it come from mcconnell? >> that's the other question is whether or not senator mcconnell plays along. i have a sneak with suspicion he will cautiously play along. he doesn't want to be blamed for this. he as of more moderate. what will they say at this meeting, what sort of stone? conciliatory? or the right saying that he has been trying to roll...
101
101
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
MSNBCW
tv
eye 101
favorite 0
quote 0
nada for boehner. on the debt limit president obama proposed a structure similar to what republican leader mitch mcconnell proposed last year. boehner wants to hold the nation's full faith and credit hostage once again to attain even more spending cuts. president obama even threw in an added incentive for republicans, by agreeing to a change in the way social security increases are calculated. no such olive branch was ever extended by republicans. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question, is john boehner's move to reconvene the house a face-saving political move or a genuine effort to reach a deal? text a for political. text b for genuine effort. to 622639. or go to our blog at.msnbc.com. i'll bring you the results later in the show. joining me now is legendary congressman charlie rangel of new york. congressman, welcome to the show. >> thank you, doctor. >> speaker boehner is finally reconvening the house. but is this just so much posturing? is there anything substan
nada for boehner. on the debt limit president obama proposed a structure similar to what republican leader mitch mcconnell proposed last year. boehner wants to hold the nation's full faith and credit hostage once again to attain even more spending cuts. president obama even threw in an added incentive for republicans, by agreeing to a change in the way social security increases are calculated. no such olive branch was ever extended by republicans. get your cell phones out. i want to know what...
302
302
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
FOXNEWSW
tv
eye 302
favorite 0
quote 0
conciliatory. >> andrea: boehner did -- boehner has taken heat. in his defense he has taken a ton of flak on this. he has given a terrible hand of cards. but he came to the table. he tried to at least bring something to the floor. mitch mcconnell knows he can't pass anything, any tax cut for everyone under $1 million. kimberly, that wouldn't even pass the senate. >> juan: allow me to introduce a little sanity to this forum. >> andrea: yes, juan. >> juan: say it's incredit to believe me he would say they're far apart. they're not far apart. boehner wants $1 trillion to new revenue. closing loopholes or deduction or whatever. obama is $1.2 trillion. that is not far apart. in terms of cut, boehner said one for one. $1 trillion in terms of the spending cuts. obama is 1.3 more on boehner -- let me finish. obama has stimulus spending built in. they are not far apart. [ overtalk ] >> eric: boehner can get $1 million and below -- just dance is because -- listen, you can't blame that on democrats. republicans would not come in -- >> andrea: how dare they d
conciliatory. >> andrea: boehner did -- boehner has taken heat. in his defense he has taken a ton of flak on this. he has given a terrible hand of cards. but he came to the table. he tried to at least bring something to the floor. mitch mcconnell knows he can't pass anything, any tax cut for everyone under $1 million. kimberly, that wouldn't even pass the senate. >> juan: allow me to introduce a little sanity to this forum. >> andrea: yes, juan. >> juan: say it's...
162
162
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
MSNBCW
tv
eye 162
favorite 0
quote 0
john boehner seems to care more about keeping his speaker ship. he's waiting until january 3rd to get reelected as speaker before he gets serious with negotiations. because he has so many people over there. that won't follow what he wants. that's obvious from the debacle that took place last week. >> tough words from the democrats. to the republicans, though, it's the other party that needs to act. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell insists he's not going to be the one to blink first. >> we're coming up on a hard deadline. this is a conversation we should have had months ago and republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> tax hikes remain at the center of the stand-off. what is the dividing line between those gets those tax breaks extended and those who do not. they're holding out hope for an 11-hour deal. hardly the first time that washington has pushed things to the edge. >> i actually think there's still a chance to get something done.
john boehner seems to care more about keeping his speaker ship. he's waiting until january 3rd to get reelected as speaker before he gets serious with negotiations. because he has so many people over there. that won't follow what he wants. that's obvious from the debacle that took place last week. >> tough words from the democrats. to the republicans, though, it's the other party that needs to act. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell insists he's not going to be the one to blink first....
67
67
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
WBAL
tv
eye 67
favorite 0
quote 0
senate leaders harry reid and its mcconnell, house leaders john boehner and nancy pelosi. it was a done with vice- president joe biden and president obama to work on a short time fixed for the crisis. >> i hope there is a deal that avoid the worst parts of the fiscal cliff, mainly taxes going up and middle-class people. i think the odds are better than they could be that people think. >> the agreement would include not only an extension of middle- class tax cuts but would also extend unemployment benefits for millions. >> tax increases need to be avoided, they can be. in the end, we will get a deal. the question is the timing. it is encouraging that both sides continue to sit down and have lines of communication open. >> but a smaller deal will only leave a problem for the incoming congress in january. that is discouraging to america's ceo's. >> we still have the big problem of how we are going to fix our deficit and debt in the country. we know the parties have to work together, and we know we have to resolve this as quickly as possible. >> wall street is keeping a close
senate leaders harry reid and its mcconnell, house leaders john boehner and nancy pelosi. it was a done with vice- president joe biden and president obama to work on a short time fixed for the crisis. >> i hope there is a deal that avoid the worst parts of the fiscal cliff, mainly taxes going up and middle-class people. i think the odds are better than they could be that people think. >> the agreement would include not only an extension of middle- class tax cuts but would also...
118
118
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
CSPAN
tv
eye 118
favorite 0
quote 0
what do you think of that assessment of boehner's motivation? the presiding officer: the senator has that right. mr. mcconnell: madam president, you'll excuse me if i'm a little frustrated at the situation we find ourselves in, but last night president obama called myself and the speaker and maybe others from hawaii and asked if there was something weekend do to avoid the fiscal cliff. i say i'm a little frustrated because we've been asking the president and the democrats to work with us on a bipartisan agreement for months, literally for months. a plan that would simplify the tax code, shrink the deficit, protect the taxpayers, and grow the economy. but democrats consistently rejected those offers. the president chose instead to spend his time on the campaign trail. this was even after he got reelected. and congressional democrats sat on their hands. now republicans have bent over backwards. we stepped way, way out of our comfort zone. we wanted an agreement, but we had no takers. the phone never rang. and so now here we are five days from the
what do you think of that assessment of boehner's motivation? the presiding officer: the senator has that right. mr. mcconnell: madam president, you'll excuse me if i'm a little frustrated at the situation we find ourselves in, but last night president obama called myself and the speaker and maybe others from hawaii and asked if there was something weekend do to avoid the fiscal cliff. i say i'm a little frustrated because we've been asking the president and the democrats to work with us on a...
281
281
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
FOXNEWSW
tv
eye 281
favorite 0
quote 0
was defering speaker boehner to give the republican side. after hearing senator reid yesterday, senator mcconnell fired back. take a listen. >> we're coming up against a hard deadline here and i said, this is a conversation we should had months ago. and republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> reporter: now senator mcconnell also said he was disappointed because when he got a call from the president two nights ago right before the president left hawaii to come back here to the white house, senator mcconnell says that was the first time he heard from any democrat, president, senator reid, nancy pelosi, anybody in about a month in terms of talking about the fiscal cliff. so everyone has sort of delayed really facing all of th up against the deadline now, jon. jon: that seems clear. ed henry at the white house there. ed, thank you. stay on it for us. for more on this let's bring in the editor of "campaigns & elections" magazine, shane de
was defering speaker boehner to give the republican side. after hearing senator reid yesterday, senator mcconnell fired back. take a listen. >> we're coming up against a hard deadline here and i said, this is a conversation we should had months ago. and republicans aren't about to write a blank check for anything senate democrats put forward just because we find ourselves at the edge of the cliff. >> reporter: now senator mcconnell also said he was disappointed because when he got a...
389
389
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
WUSA
tv
eye 389
favorite 0
quote 0
it was only a short while ago that john boehner was called a dictator. with the deadline looming the goal appears to be to shield most american taxpayers from automatic tax increase. now, the president's already agreed to raise income taxes on americans earning more than $400,000. that's up from his $250,000 goal set in the campaign, and there's also an effort to extend jobless pen fits for americans out of work for six months or more. >> major, do we have any reason to believe that this time it is different? >> well, certainly. the deadline is real. the house is coming back into session on sunday. even is going to be here either to preside over america going over the fiscal cliff or last-minute very small deal that averted for a while and leaves more negotiations for the future. >> major garrett, thank you very much. general norman schwarzkopf, commander of the coalition for the gulf war died yesterday. he tricked and outflanked saddam hussein's forces in just 101 hours. he gave this famous reply to a question about the iraqi leader. >> as far as saddam
it was only a short while ago that john boehner was called a dictator. with the deadline looming the goal appears to be to shield most american taxpayers from automatic tax increase. now, the president's already agreed to raise income taxes on americans earning more than $400,000. that's up from his $250,000 goal set in the campaign, and there's also an effort to extend jobless pen fits for americans out of work for six months or more. >> major, do we have any reason to believe that this...
478
478
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
KPIX
tv
eye 478
favorite 0
quote 0
it will take some doing for boehner and reid to get along. it was only yesterday on the senate floor that harry reid called john boehner a dictator. in the past these meetings haven't produced much progress. the goal appears to be to shield most americans from automatic tax increases due to eat into their paychecks starting next week in the form of federal income tax withholding. the president has agreed to raisin come taxes on americans over $400,000. also an effort to extend jobless benefits for america's out of work for six months or more. these are microscopic goals but might be all that the political system with accomplish. >> major, do we have any reason to believe that this time it is different? >> certainly because the deadline is real the house is coming back in session on sunday. everyone is going to be here either to preside over america going over the fiscal cliff and all of us watching it together orr last minute small deal that averts it for a while and leaves more negotiations for the future. >> major garrett thank you very muc
it will take some doing for boehner and reid to get along. it was only yesterday on the senate floor that harry reid called john boehner a dictator. in the past these meetings haven't produced much progress. the goal appears to be to shield most americans from automatic tax increases due to eat into their paychecks starting next week in the form of federal income tax withholding. the president has agreed to raisin come taxes on americans over $400,000. also an effort to extend jobless benefits...
207
207
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
FOXNEWSW
tv
eye 207
favorite 0
quote 0
back to you guys. >> juliet: listening to them, what senator reid says about boehner and boehner's response. they sound like they're real housewives of dc or something. >> eric: they're nowhere near a deal. i think i have this figured out. president obama came back from hits vacation saying let's see if we can get something together, knowing very well that they can't. the house and senate are so far apart, neither one will even entertain the idea -- >> juliet: so why have a meeting? >> eric: you look like you're trying o do the right thing. these bush tax cuts will expire december 31, 72 hours from now, whatever the number is. if president obama comes back in january sometime and says, you know what, house republican members, i have an idea. let's lower taxes 'cause they went back up. let's lower taxes back to where they were last year for the people making under $250,000 a year and let's call them the obama tax cuts. it looks like he's the tax cutter and if you're a republican in the house, you go, wait a minute, i'm supposed to be for lower taxes. how can i vote no for lowering taxes on a
back to you guys. >> juliet: listening to them, what senator reid says about boehner and boehner's response. they sound like they're real housewives of dc or something. >> eric: they're nowhere near a deal. i think i have this figured out. president obama came back from hits vacation saying let's see if we can get something together, knowing very well that they can't. the house and senate are so far apart, neither one will even entertain the idea -- >> juliet: so why have a...
235
235
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
FOXNEWSW
tv
eye 235
favorite 0
quote 0
we just got word on the other end of the avenue, john boehner has arrived at the capitol. so who will really be there to blame on january 1 if those potentially devastating tax hikes and spending cuts actually go into effect? do you really want to look at your paycheck on that first week or two? heather: yeah. no. gregg: no. anybody want to look at their paycheck? no. heather: i will take a look at yours. gregg: no. heather: okay. they rushed into a nuclear disaster to do whatever they could to help but now a group of u.s. sailors is suing over japan's fukushima nuclear plant meltdown. they claim officials lied through their teeth about the dangers. do they have a case? we will debate it. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting decongestant to relieve your stuffy nose
we just got word on the other end of the avenue, john boehner has arrived at the capitol. so who will really be there to blame on january 1 if those potentially devastating tax hikes and spending cuts actually go into effect? do you really want to look at your paycheck on that first week or two? heather: yeah. no. gregg: no. anybody want to look at their paycheck? no. heather: i will take a look at yours. gregg: no. heather: okay. they rushed into a nuclear disaster to do whatever they could to...
157
157
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
CNNW
tv
eye 157
favorite 0
quote 0
republicans mitch mcconnell and john boehner. those four members of congress are expected to make the drive from the capital, which you see on the right, down pennsylvania avenue, to the white house, there on the left. and we expect them to enter through a side door on the west side of the mansion. that's the entrance right there. and they'll meet with the president. in the oval office. beginning, we're told, at 3:00 p.m., less than one hour from now. and just four days ahead of the so-called fiscal cliff. so a very big moment in the nation's capital. and to walk us through what might happen we turn to jessica yellin, a chief white house correspondent. jessica, we said up front, it is a long shot, give us a best case scenario. >> reporter: the best case scenario would be that all the leaders walk out of this meeting and say they have a deal. the two senators say they can bring it to a vote, and none of their members will filibuster it. house speaker john boehner says he will bring it to the house floor for a vote before new year'
republicans mitch mcconnell and john boehner. those four members of congress are expected to make the drive from the capital, which you see on the right, down pennsylvania avenue, to the white house, there on the left. and we expect them to enter through a side door on the west side of the mansion. that's the entrance right there. and they'll meet with the president. in the oval office. beginning, we're told, at 3:00 p.m., less than one hour from now. and just four days ahead of the so-called...
224
224
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
KPIX
tv
eye 224
favorite 0
quote 2
obama 54% support compared to 26% for house speaker john boehner. >>> 5:02. a looming dock worker strike threatens to hurt the economy, as well. longshoremen are locked in negotiations with shipping companies over royalties paid to workers for each ton of cargo they move. a shutdown would impact 15 ports along the east coast and the gulf and officials estimate it will cost $1 billion a day. >>> 5:03. let's check traffic and weather. we had a break yesterday but i guess rain is coming back. >> it's all gone. >> hello. >> it didn't last very long. we got rain heading towards the bay area and you can see that low. it's right there. so it hasn't quite hit the bay area yet. but by later on this afternoon, that's when we're going to see light showers and it's going to quickly spread all across the bay area, continuing to tomorrow morning. so it's on approach right now and you can see those showers. bring an umbrella if you are heading outside at all today. so again you won't need it for this morning. the only thing we're talking about are all these cold temperature
obama 54% support compared to 26% for house speaker john boehner. >>> 5:02. a looming dock worker strike threatens to hurt the economy, as well. longshoremen are locked in negotiations with shipping companies over royalties paid to workers for each ton of cargo they move. a shutdown would impact 15 ports along the east coast and the gulf and officials estimate it will cost $1 billion a day. >>> 5:03. let's check traffic and weather. we had a break yesterday but i guess rain is...
139
139
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
CSPAN2
tv
eye 139
favorite 0
quote 0
john boehner could not even pass a tax proposal that he suggesting that would keep the taxes the same for everybody except people making over a million dollars.llio nope, grover and the boys said s no. can't do that. so he voted -- didn't p even bring it up for a vote. so i am here, i'm happy to listen to anything the speaker and the republican leader have. they have the way of getting to the president. they don't need my help. but i'm happy to work with them any way that i can. but the way things have been but going, it's not a really goods cape hatch that we have --ve. escape hatch that we have.they they're out of town, they won't be back for two days, 48 hours. so that's where we are.
john boehner could not even pass a tax proposal that he suggesting that would keep the taxes the same for everybody except people making over a million dollars.llio nope, grover and the boys said s no. can't do that. so he voted -- didn't p even bring it up for a vote. so i am here, i'm happy to listen to anything the speaker and the republican leader have. they have the way of getting to the president. they don't need my help. but i'm happy to work with them any way that i can. but the way...
105
105
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
CSPAN
tv
eye 105
favorite 0
quote 0
my speaker right now, it is john boehner. i am proud to work with him. >> is one particularly effective? >> one of the most important pieces of that is speakers who are willing to reach out to members and seek your advice and counsel and input, those speakers have a way of having a lasting impact upon the place. i have spent a number of years in the building. if sam raburn is not a reflection of that, i don't know who is. >> how about presidents under which you have served? >> ronald reagan. i had the honor of serving with him and he signed air quality district act for southern california. the first preschool program in the country was signed by ronald reagan. people hardly believed that but he was willing to use government in a way that was responsive to real challenged that government should be dealing with. i was proud that we had a chance to work together in connection with some of that. a if you look across, it's lot of history, 34 years altogether, is there a time when you look back and say those are the best years. tho
my speaker right now, it is john boehner. i am proud to work with him. >> is one particularly effective? >> one of the most important pieces of that is speakers who are willing to reach out to members and seek your advice and counsel and input, those speakers have a way of having a lasting impact upon the place. i have spent a number of years in the building. if sam raburn is not a reflection of that, i don't know who is. >> how about presidents under which you have served?...
297
297
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
FOXNEWSW
tv
eye 297
favorite 0
quote 0
president barack obama, speaker of the house john boehner, house minority leader nancy pelosi, harry reid and mitch mcconnell. can they make a deal or can they do their jobs or is this just more political drama? >> we want an agreement. >> the count down is midnight. the start of a new year. >> we are going over the cliff because frankly i believe it's what the president wants. >> the american people are waiting for the ball to drop, but it's not going to be a good drop. >> but we have no takers. >> every republican, every democrat ought to be here. >> the phone never raining. >> they should negotiate a plan. they shouldn't have the mine are in plan, they should have the biglan. >> here we are five days from the new year, and we might finally start talking. >> the republicans are sitting there with a nuclear weapon. they have the debt ceiling coming up. they can use that as part of this negotiation. >> what is going on here? >> the president called me and probably called others last night. my impression is he would like to see if we can move forward. >> you can't legislate with yours
president barack obama, speaker of the house john boehner, house minority leader nancy pelosi, harry reid and mitch mcconnell. can they make a deal or can they do their jobs or is this just more political drama? >> we want an agreement. >> the count down is midnight. the start of a new year. >> we are going over the cliff because frankly i believe it's what the president wants. >> the american people are waiting for the ball to drop, but it's not going to be a good drop....
432
432
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
CNNW
tv
eye 432
favorite 0
quote 2
we haven't asked speaker boehner to support the bill. we have just asked them to have a vote on exactly the kind of proposal that you and that caller were talking about. >> we are now four days out. we'll see what happens. congressman, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> we're back after another break. >>> you know her from tv and movie, but you may not know what she's dedicated her life to, giving back. here's big stars, big giving and eva longoria. >> i'm being pulled in a million different directions. sex trafficking in thailand or dolphins in japan. you can't do everything. so i'm thinking what do i really want to do. where can i create the most impact? >> reporter: to answer that question you could say eva longoria looked in the mirror. known for playing the vixen on "desperate housewives", longoria had humble beginnings. the youngest of four daughters born in texas to mexican-american parents. . . >> i wasn't the first to go to college. it was expected. >> when you went to college, it wasn't a walk in the park. you had to work.
we haven't asked speaker boehner to support the bill. we have just asked them to have a vote on exactly the kind of proposal that you and that caller were talking about. >> we are now four days out. we'll see what happens. congressman, thank you very much. >> thank you. >>> we're back after another break. >>> you know her from tv and movie, but you may not know what she's dedicated her life to, giving back. here's big stars, big giving and eva longoria. >>...
171
171
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
CSPAN
tv
eye 171
favorite 0
quote 0
it is john boehner. >> is one particularly effective? >> one of the most important pieces of that is speakers who are willing to reach out to members and seek your advice and counsel and input, those speakers have a way of having a lasting impact upon the place. i have >> how about presidents under which you have served? >> ronald reagan. i had the honor of serving with him and he signed air quality district act for southern california. the first preschool program in the country was signed by ronald reagan. people hardly believed that but he was willing to use government in a way that was responsive to real challenged that government should be dealing with. i was proud that we had a chance to work together in connection with some of that. >> if you look across, it's a lot of history, 34 years altogether, is there a time when you look back and say those are the best years. those are the ones i enjoyed the most. >> every year that goes by it amazes me that i am still here. i did not plan to be here this long. if i did not have the chance t
it is john boehner. >> is one particularly effective? >> one of the most important pieces of that is speakers who are willing to reach out to members and seek your advice and counsel and input, those speakers have a way of having a lasting impact upon the place. i have >> how about presidents under which you have served? >> ronald reagan. i had the honor of serving with him and he signed air quality district act for southern california. the first preschool program in the...
486
486
Dec 28, 2012
12/12
by
WRC
tv
eye 486
favorite 0
quote 0
they couldn't even pass speaker boehner's own plan b. the fact that he's come back and the four of them are at the table means to me we could come up with some kind of agreement that would avoid the main parts of the fiscal cliff, particularly taxes going up on middle class people. now, i am hopeful, and it can be a balanced package. we've always said it should be a balanced package. the problem has not been democrats being willing to do cuts. we did $1 trillion of them last year. we're willing to do more this year. the problem is revenues. >> senator thune, if we go over the fiscal cliff, it will have very real impact on americans and their pocketbooks. a lot of people who live outside washington watch this process and say, these guys have a self-imposed dead line on a very serious issue they may not meet. can you restore any confidence to the american people that they should believe in what you all are doing there? >> sure. i think it's encouraging that people are talking, willie. there is an agreement out there that can be reached, bu
they couldn't even pass speaker boehner's own plan b. the fact that he's come back and the four of them are at the table means to me we could come up with some kind of agreement that would avoid the main parts of the fiscal cliff, particularly taxes going up on middle class people. now, i am hopeful, and it can be a balanced package. we've always said it should be a balanced package. the problem has not been democrats being willing to do cuts. we did $1 trillion of them last year. we're willing...